


I'll always protect you

by ReindeerAntlersofDoom



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, Angst, Bodyguard, Fluff, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Kissing, M/M, Misunderstandings, Where would I be without my betas?, just a tiny bit, literally nowhere, on multiple occasions, they figure it out really quick though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:27:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25889605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReindeerAntlersofDoom/pseuds/ReindeerAntlersofDoom
Summary: Harley has been Peter's bodyguard for while now but he is getting worried that his newfound feelings will get in the way.A Parkner bodyguard Au.
Relationships: Harley Keener/Peter Parker
Comments: 6
Kudos: 97





	I'll always protect you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FrogOnAToadstool](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrogOnAToadstool/gifts).



> Well howdy folks, 
> 
> So I was working on other stuff but then I decided to write this for my wonderful friend Grey! They are so awesome and brilliant and they deserve all the best! I hope you enjoy this Grey! <3
> 
> Thanks to my wonderful Betas CyberSleuthCat and F0reverl0st ! They are lifesavers!
> 
> Enjoy!

Harley pulled out his phone from his suit pocket. He could feel how sweaty his palms were, god he was nervous. What he was about to do was honestly a horrible idea, but it was his best option. He opened his phone to read his texts, leaning against the black limo, feeling his back being warmed by the dark car.

Harley didn’t like to check his phone while he was working. It made him feel too distracted, but he had to make sure everything was okay with his client. Everything usually was okay with his client though. There were very few occasions where something was truly wrong. There has been one time that stuck out in Harley’s memory where Peter, his client, had said he found a man creepy and had asked Harley to keep an eye on him. Harley kept an eye on him and had uncovered an assassination plot against Peter. It had been very scandalous and sensationalized: An ex-employee of Oscorp attempted to murder the Heir to Stark Industries? It had been in the news for at least two weeks, the first week told the story but the next week was all the theories about it. And there was A LOT of theories about it. Harley’s favorite one by far was the theory that Peter was actually an alien that had infiltrated Stark Industries, and that he had rebelled against the aliens so they sent an assassin. Harley wasn’t sure how it all worked but it always gave him a chuckle.

But today Peter had to go into a meeting for something incredibly classified, so classified that Harley wasn’t even allowed to go inside. Peter had fought for him to come in, but it just wasn’t allowed. They had finally decided that Harley would stay outside but if needed Peter could contact him. It didn’t make him happy, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Peter hadn’t texted anything important though, so he felt good on that front.

_Well, I’m just about ready to go, this man has been talking for ages. You ready?_

_I’m always ready Mr. Parker_

_You are always so professional over text, you could just call me Peter_

_like you do when we talk face to face._

_Mr. Parker how dare you insinuate I am anything but the utmost professional all the time_

_Haha_

Harley rolled his eyes. Yes, he probably should remain more professional and keep better boundaries between friend and bodyguard, but that was tough. Harley had always been able to joke and have fun with him, but after Peter had found out his bodyguard had a degree in mechanics, it became very different. Peter would drag him down to the labs to check out his newest projects, or get his input on a machine. It made it tougher to keep that boundary. At this point he was less of a bodyguard and more of a lab partner. Even when he wasn’t technically on shift, or it was nighttime, Peter would still drag him off somewhere.

It was becoming a very big problem, as Harley was starting to develop feelings for the man. Or rather, he already had feelings. Having a crush on his client was the biggest problem Harley had run into in his years as a bodyguard. But every time he tried to shove his feelings down they just came back, stronger than before. Peter was just too amazing, and Harley loved every bit about him. His bright smile, his attempt to suppress laughter during meetings after he saw a funny meme on his phone that he shouldn’t have been touching. The way his fingers were graceful and gentle after years of working with fragile things. His imagination, his brilliance, the way he could ramble for hours and get lost in so deeply in his thoughts that there was no bringing him back. Every little thing about him made Harley fall for him more than before. It was a very big problem, but Harley hadn’t known what he was going to do. He didn’t want to leave Peter, for fear that it would destroy their friendship, but this was too big of a distraction, he was afraid he couldn’t protect Peter if he was dealing with this. So he had decided that the best bet was to talk to Peter about quitting. Although he was still bound under contract, he was hoping Peter could waver that a bit. And hopefully Peter wouldn’t ask questions.

Harley saw Peter through the glass windows, his curls bouncing as he bounded down the stairs, his leather attache case in hand. He had a brilliant smile on his face as he opened the door, letting the hot sun caress his face.

“You all ready to go home Mr. Parker?” He asked in his most teasing tone.

Peter nodded, opening his door before Harley could even reach for it, “I am so ready to go, oh! I just have to tell you about this one lady I saw! Her outfit was absolutely wonderful!”

Settling himself down in the drivers seat, Harley nodded along with what Peter was saying.

“Okay. So. I’m just walking along, getting ready to go to this silly meeting and this woman comes up to me asking if I want tea, I of course said yes! I love tea!”

Harley chuckled, Peter really did love his tea.

“And so I’m just like okay, this is completely normal, this completely normal woman with a normal outfit. So she walks away to go get my tea, which I don’t really pay much attention to but when she comes back I notice her necklace and earrings! The earrings were mushrooms, and the necklace was a dragon! A dragon Harley! The size of my fist and completely made of jade! So by now, I’m like, what the hell is this woman wearing , I want to be her friend. And so I pay better attention to her outfit! Her bow tie had tiny boobs all over it, and I mean tiny, without my vision I doubt I would have seen it! And then her belt was completely leather except it had runes sewn in the hem! This woman was wild Harley, she looked so professional I would’ve have never expected that!”

Harley pulled the car out of the parking spot. Trust Peter to get so excited about someone’s outfit. Harley was very quickly able to get lost in his ramblings while he drove.

“That sounds really cool Peter. Did you enjoy the tea?”

Peter sunk into his seat, his arms crossed with a pout on his face, “No. It was peppermint.”

Harley couldn’t help but giggle at that. He looked so forlorn that he hadn’t gotten his tea.

“Hey! That’s not funny! I really wanted my tea!” but even Harley could see a smile forming on his face.

“Of course you did,” he agreed, nodding his head sagely, “So how was the meeting?”

This time, instead of smiling, Peter groaned, “It was so boring. I never want to do that again, Mr. Stark can go next time.”

“Won’t this be your job eventually?”

“Yes, I am quite excited for certain parts but not the meetings. Never the meetings.”

“That sounds tou- Hey get in your own lane!” Harley suddenly shouted, honking the horn, “Yeah you!”

He slammed the car horn again, “Stupid shits that can’t drive” he muttered under his breath, quiet enough that Peter wasn’t sure he even heard it.

Neither of them said anything for the rest of the ride home. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence, only a sudden one. Peter was in the back, on his tablet reviewing his work and Harley was focused on the road. The silence felt like a tether between them, holding them together even without speaking. As they got closer to home, Harley could feel his fingers gripping the steering wheel tighter. He was so nervous

Harley pulled into the garage, Peter finally looked up from the screen, “We’re home already?”

“Yup,” that was all he felt he could spit out.

Peter quickly unbuckled and rushed inside, apparently excited at the prospect of being back, even though he had only left a day before. Harley followed him inside, wringing his hands.

But when he stepped through the doorway, a weight felt like it lifted off his shoulders. This wasn’t just Peter’s home, after all this time it felt like his too.

Peter was on the phone already, ordering pizza. He had tossed his shoes and jacket in the corner and his case was spread across table.

They spent the next hour together, eating shitty pizza and watching even shittier reality television shows.

Harley couldn’t put it off any longer. He just couldn’t. He grabbed the remote and turned down the tv volume.

“Peter, I have something I need to talk to you about.”

He looked up, surprised by the seriousness in Harley’s voice, “Go for it.”

This was it, he took one last breath, “I was wondering if you could terminate the contract.” he didn’t even voice it as a question, cause somehow it didn’t feel like one.

Grabbing the remote and shutting the tv off, Peter stared at him, “You mean the contract that binds you to be my bodyguard?”

“Yes,” it was almost a whisper.

Peter pressed his lips together, “I didn’t know you didn’t like the job. I-I-I of course I can, I- I didn’t know you wanted to quit I’m sorry.”

Harley felt his heart breaking, he had to do something, “No! No! Pete, I love this job, I don’t want to quit!”

There were very faint tears in Peter’s eyes when he looked back up at Harley, “Then why do you want to quit?”

“I-” _shit_ , he had dug himself into a hole, “This job is just- it’s I am afraid I won’t be able to protect you any longer.”

“Harley I swear to god if this is some self-deprecating bullshit I will be so mad.”

“No! I promise it’s not but I just don’t know if I can protect you the same way I have before.”

Peter stood up and started pacing, something that Harley had noticed he had inherited from his mentor.

“I don’t get it Harley, what’s changed enough to the point where you don’t want to see me?”

_Oh, that’s why._ Peter thought that Harley didn’t want to see him.

“I do want to see you Peter, I really do.”

He could see a tears running down Peter’s face, landing on his lips. This wasn’t what Harley had wanted. He wanted to sink into the couch, bring himself back to ten minutes ago when they were happy. Such a small something that would change the way things were.

“ _Then why?_ ” Peter said.

Harley couldn’t take it anymore, he couldn’t take the lying and the hiding. It wasn’t what he had meant to do but maybe it was what he needed to do.

“I like you Peter,” he said, the words out of his mouth before he could stop them.

“Well shit Harley, after spending the last 8 months together I would hope you like me just a little bit,” Peter snapped. He always got sarcastic and mean when he was angry.

“Not like that, I love you Peter, I’m in love with you,” once he was past the barrier, it felt like the easiest thing he had ever said. The easiest thing he had ever admitted.

“I’m in love with you and that’s why I can’t do this anymore.”

Peter was frozen to his spot on the ground, “what?” it came out broken and quiet. Like he couldn’t believe his own ears. His eyes were wide and he was staring at Harley, piercing a hole in his heart.

“I- _this whole time_? This whole time and you never thought to tell me?” Peter quietly said, all the aggression draining out of his body.

Harley let his head hang down, staring at his and Peter’s feet. He shook his head.

“Harley, you never once thought I would feel the same way?”

_what_ . That- that couldn’t be right. _no_. Peter was supposed to be angry and upset. He was supposed to say he never wanted to see Harley again and he was supposed to be mad. What was this?

“I-” Harley couldn’t even say anything.

“You never thought, not even once, that I love you too. Because I do. I was worried you would hate me for it.”

Harley gaped at him. This was the last thing he had been expecting. _Peter felt the same way_.

Now Harley could feel tears in his eyes. His thoughts were racing so fast he couldn’t process them.

Peter flopped down on the couch next him. Neither of them stared at each other, their eyes were glued forward at the carpet. The only noise was the humming of the fridge and the various machines scattered around the house.

They sat like that for a long while until Harley broke the silence, “I’m sorry.”

Peter nodded, “We could have told each other so much sooner and avoided all of this.”

A tiny smile broke out onto his face and he looked over Harley. Then he leaned over and rested his head on his shoulder.

Harley took a deep breath, all of these feelings over the last three months. All released within the span of 5 minutes. All that pondering and staying awake at night. Everything coming and leading to a single point.

But was this the point? Harley wasn’t sure he knew the answer.

“Can I kiss you?” Peter asked him, his voice soft and gentle.

Harley nodded and caught the boys lips with his own. His heart soared with joy and love. Peter tasted like tears and pizza, it was a strange combination, but Harley didn’t care, he wasn’t sure if he cared about anything. He didn’t know if he would keep his job, he didn’t know if he even wanted to. He wasn’t sure if he and Peter would ever work out, or if it would be frowned upon. A bodyguard falling in love with his client, he wasn’t sure if it was unprofessional or cliché. But one thing he was sure of, was that in that moment. In that single moment. He had never been happier in his whole life.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this! 
> 
> Also. Have a wonderful day you deserve it!
> 
> If you enjoy Parkner, feel free to hop over to the Parkner Pals discord: 
> 
> https://discord.gg/tScnu6N


End file.
